Falls River, MA

Sep 19, 2011

Date Resolved

Mon, 04/30/2007 - 20:00

The Sheriff of Bristol County purchased a house with county money and turned it over to Teen Challenge of New England to run a drug rehabilitation program. Teen Challenge attempts to “cure” drug addiction by immersing program participants in religious instruction and converting them to a fundamentalist form of Christianity. AU wrote a letter to the Sheriff, informing him that providing a county-owned facility free of charge to a religious organization to run a proselytizing program was unconstitutional. The Sheriff initially had a very hostile reaction, holding a press conference in which he vigorously argued that there was nothing improper about the relationship. However, after we sent a public-records request concerning the matter, the Sheriff expelled Teen Challenge from the house.